Gruhn's Home Reaches "Tipping Point"

It was another monumental day of flood recovery in the life of First Lutheran Church. Today 20 people showed up to lend their hands and open their hearts to their fellow church members in need. Together we reached the "tipping point" of the influence our volunteer efforts inside the family's home. We can help a little here and there in the weeks ahead, but largely we turn it over to the skilled craftsmen. "Your volunteers have helped us out a great deal, more than any other house we've ever done," Contractor Pat Freilinger said. "Volunteers can help more and more each week up through putting up drywall and painting. Then there comes a point where finish carpentry kicks in and we kind of take over." According to Freilinger, we're at that point.

Karolyn Smith, Ira Way, Tanya Rosenkranz, Mary VanHauten, Sue Vittetoe, and Karen Shaw finished up all the trim paint inside the house and then took on the wheelchair ramp and front porch posts in the front. It looks beautiful. Mike Sinnott applied the house numbers and Scott Gerhold attached the mailbox. Jim Kanke & Mark Scheumann wrapped all the duct work in plastic so the basement ceiling is ready to be sprayed with prime this week. Then Lou & Julie Banker joined Jim & Mark in sanding down the basement walls so they are ready for texture and hopefully prime this week. If this gets done, our painters could roll the basement walls on Saturday.

Meanwhile, outside John Shaw put up new gutters on the house with the help of Jim, Lou, Scott, and others. Tom Olmstead fixed up the broken swing which Robert is joyously enjoying in the picture above. (For more pictures, check out the slideshow "faith in action" in the upper right). Scott and Ira built a new flowerbed off the deck. Dixie and Sarah Olmstead did an amazing job cleaning up the back deck. Tina and Pat McCollough brought some delicious treats and Pastor Dan and Nova Kolander stopped by to encourage the troops.

This week the contractor's guys will concentrate on getting the kitchen floor in this week so we can help him hang cabinets this coming Saturday. Depending on what materials arrive this week, we might hang doors, put up cedar wood in the closets, trim the windows, carpet Kia's room, and/or start in on siding the garage.